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The list is long of elite African American musicians who have served serious mid-career time, including veteran funksters James Brown and Rick James, and soul stalwarts Wilson Pickett, Billy Preston and Ronald Isley.

But the celebrity perps the New Orleans native has most in common with are fellow rappers such as the late Tupac Shakur and recently released T.I., both of whom were jailed in the flush of their popularity, like 27-year-old Wayne.

Shakur, who was killed in an unsolved shooting in 1996, was an acclaimed rapper and fledgling actor when he was convicted of sexual assault in 1995. The sentence didn't stall the New Yorker's ascendance: he enjoyed his first No. 1 album for third disc Me Against The World and was recognized as the first artist to realize a No. 1 record while incarcerated.

Despite the charge of having sexually assaulted a woman, fans of both genders rallied around Shakur, who insisted he'd been framed by a groupie who'd engaged in consensual sex with him. Paroled after eight months, he quickly hit No. 1 again with two-disc All Eyez On Me and landed his first – and only – No. 1 single, "California Love." The album's catchy songs and Shakur's rebellious persona spurred sales.

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Unfortunately, the 25-year-old was murdered within the year. Heralded as one of hip-hop's greatest emcees, at least nine of his posthumous recordings and compilations have landed in the Top 10 of Billboard magazine's album chart.

As Wayne gets comfy at New York's Rikers Island jail complex, T.I. will be preparing for release from a Georgia halfway house at the end of March. The rapper made his first public appearance last week after serving a year-long sentence on federal gun charges, joining fiancée and former Xscape singer Tameka (Tiny) Cottle at an Alzheimer's research fundraiser being filmed for her BET reality show, Tiny & Toya. (Toya Carter is Lil Wayne's ex-wife and mother of his eldest child.)

It remains to be seen how the time away has affected the profile of T.I., a.k.a. Clifford Harris, who realized his first No. 1 singles, "Live Your Life" and "Whatever You Like," with 2008's Grammy-earning Paper Trail. While the charges were in keeping with the hustler persona of the budding actor, a pre-prison reality show, T.I.'s Road to Redemption, saw him counselling youth to walk the straight and narrow.

In court, the 29-year-old father of five said he tried to buy guns from an undercover agent to protect himself in the aftermath of a pal's murder.

After he gets out of jail, with an album and film slated to drop this summer, T.I. will find himself competing with the similar good looks and suave lyrics of newcomer Drake and the creativity of Kanye West. There may even be new music from Lil Wayne.

Wayne's charges are considered of little concern to most of his fans, who see him as a guy taking responsibility for someone else's gun found on his tour bus. Instead, the biggest faux pas by 2008's top seller was releasing a lacklustre album on the eve of his entrance to jail.

The much-delayed, rock-tinged Rebirth has been widely panned. The prolific Wayne, who hopes to be out in eight months with good behaviour after pleading guilty in the New York case, may release tracks from the highly anticipated Tha Carter IV in his absence.

In the jail countdown, he has reached out to fans with the launch of a Twitter account, sending his 200,000 followers philosophical musings, such as "Love is the key, open up" (Feb. 28); "Iz it betta 2 b believed r believed in?" (Feb. 24); and "Staying strong" (March 1).

He has also been spending time with his four children, had surgery on his diamond-encrusted teeth (which delayed his sentencing last month) and is trying to sell his South Beach condo.

It's unlikely that Wayne will be able to keep tweeting behind bars, though in a recent issue of Rolling Stone he indicated plans to have with him an iPod loaded with tracks that he could write songs to.

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